Verifying a model of radon decay product behavior indoors.

Where it is not feasible to reduce radon levels in houses, exposure to radon decay products may still be reduced through air filtration or other air treatment techniques. A model which accurately describes the behavior of decay products indoors would be helpful to development or improvement of such air treatment techniques. We use a minor modification of a well-known model to describe the behavior and fate of radon decay products in the average indoor environment, and examine the adequacy of the model to predict the impact of a variety of air treatment techniques on indoor radon decay product levels. We find that the indoor environment is successfully described by the model and that plate-out of radon decay products on surfaces is much less than previous work has suggested. We also find that the model provides a plausible explanation of the effectiveness of a variety of techniques that remove radon decay products from the air.